African American parents have engaged in education activism throughout United States history, in attempts to gain better access to education for their children. Activism is taking direct actions to achieve a social or political goal. For some parents, the goal is positive change in schooling, at the local, community or state or national level, making their actions educational activism. In New York City, the nation’s largest public school system, parent activism has been documented describing actions of African American parents in cases such as the Harlem school boycott of 1958 and the struggle for control over the Ocean Hill-Brownsville schools in1967. The purpose of this dissertation is to add to a growing body of literature on education activism, moving beyond describing the actions by focusing on the experiences of the activists. Using Black feminist thought as a theoretical framework, this study employs a storytelling methodology to understand the lived experiences of seven African American mothers who engage in educational activism in New York City today. Black feminist thought provides a framework to understand the situated experiences of the mothers as they navigate oppression while seeking structural change in education. It also provides a means for understanding how the activities of these mothers are in fact activism, as their roles as “othermothers” are explored. The methodology, which employed conversational interviews and a focus group, was designed to center the mothers’ stories in the research, using their own words to make sense of what it means to be a Black woman, mother, education activist. The findings of this research present a picture of what activism is for these mothers and where it happens – at the local, state and national levels: highlighting how it happens both within and outside of existing structures for parent involvement. Another finding highlights the importance of having allies for activism. This research has implications for how teachers and others work with parents, suggesting strong collaborations with parent activists as a way to create positive change in schools.

The purpose of this study was to assess African American parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions about ADHD, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes to determine if and/or how those views may affect diagnosis and treatment rates among African American youth. ADHD prevalence is increasing overall in the US across all races/ethnicities, but ADHD diagnosis and treatment rates are still low among African American youth compared to White youth. While African American youth may be more greatly affected by the disorder than White youth, there is a gap in understanding why some parents seek help for their child’s ADHD related behaviors, while others do not. African American parents and primary caregivers of boys ages 5-14 who attended an afterschool program in Harlem, New York City, participated in a cross-sectional design interview study with 43 participants. Transcripts were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using an inductive approach. Highlights of findings included parents’ and caregivers’ discomfort using medication to treat ADHD, concerns about labeling/stigma and misconceptions about ADHD, diagnosis, and treatment. Implications for practice included the need for: disseminating accurate and relevant information, improving understanding about proven and promising non-pharmacological treatment methods and addressing discriminatory practices in ADHD treatment. Recommendations for research include creating and evaluating culturally sensitive treatment approaches, exploring why certain families are misinformed about ADHD, finding effective ways to correct misconceptions, and testing alternative ways to educate healthcare and education professionals on how best to work with African American and other underserved communities.

Childhood obesity affects children from every socioeconomic level, but there is a higher prevalence of obesity among preschool-age children from low-income families. Some obese children are experiencing symptoms (e.g., high cholesterol and diabetes) generally experienced by adults. As a result, healthcare costs have increased. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand how low-income African American parents contribute to the prevalence of obesity in preschoolers. The conceptual framework and constructs from the health belief model (HBM) guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 8 participants who met the inclusion criteria of being a low-income African American parent with an overweight/obese child living in the Atlanta Region. Creswell's simplified version of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen's data analysis led to the following themes among the participants. The themes were time restraints for preparing a healthy meal and limited activities-playtime, family time, America's childhood obesity, inappropriate diet, and lack of knowledge. Results demonstrated that parents might not understand that a lack of adequate sleep, physical activity, and healthy meals (consumed with parents) contribute to the prevalence of childhood obesity. Positive social change can be achieved through decreased healthcare costs associated with obesity related diseases by implementing the recommended 60 minutes of structured and unstructured playtime activities at learning centers and parents introducing small dietary changes, with healthy choices, which can start preschoolers eating healthier at a young age.

ABSTRACT THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PARENTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE ELITE PRIVATE SCHOOL by Debra Elaine Smith Parental involvement has been associated positively with school success across ethnic groups (Hong & Ho, 2005). Yet, some African American parents were found to be more alienated from school than were White parents (Abrams & Gibbs, 2002). One of the most consistent findings in educational research is the underachievement of African American males (Lee, 2003), and a recent report chronicled the pervasive and systematic failure of public schools to educate African American males (Schott, 2008). In the southeastern region, only 40% of African American males graduate from high school (Schott); however, in the post-Civil Rights era, advances in racial equity in education and other arenas of society have created a growing African American middle class (McKinnon, 2003). The southeast region has the largest percent of affluent African Americans (Miller, 2002), and a growing number of these upper middle class African American parents are sending their children to private schools because they are dissatisfied with the lack of rigor in the public school experience (Freedman,2004). This is a new phenomenon that warrants study. Currently, there are no empirical studies on middle class African American parents who send their children to private schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways 12 African American couples of middle school boys experience a predominantly White elite private school. To undertake this qualitative investigation, a phenomenological approach incorporating grounded theory was utilized. This research approach is well suited for exploratory investigation of phenomena that are not yet clearly defined within the literature (Creswell, 1998). Data were collected from the couple interviews, focus group, demographic information, and reflexive journal. Five overarching themes emerged from the analysis of the data: better opportunity/brand, parental connection, selective engagement, parental struggle, and parental marginalization. These results are informative and significant to research and practice. Ultimately, it is hoped that this study may contribute to the efforts of providing a quality education to African American male students and satisfaction to their parents in the areas of diversity and inclusion at predominantly White elite private schools.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2002. / Title from title page screen, viewed February 7, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Maureen E. Angell (chair), Jeffrey P. Bakken, Barbara M. Fulk, James R. Thompson, W. Paul Vogt. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-103) and abstract. Also available in print.